


Mālum

by agirlnamedtruth



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M, Reflection, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-13
Updated: 2014-03-13
Packaged: 2018-01-15 14:07:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1307590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agirlnamedtruth/pseuds/agirlnamedtruth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur is haunted by a kiss that isn't True Love's Kiss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mālum

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Camelot Land's](http://camelot-land.livejournal.com) prompts "Unrequited" and "Forbidden Fruit."

Arthur closed his eyes, trying to block out the all too vivid images of Vivian, sleeping peacefully on her pillow, curls half covering her face. She hadn't seemed such a tyrant when she was asleep. In fact, she'd looked... pleasant. 

Arthur screwed his eyes up. This was a useless line of thinking. There was nothing to be done about it. He didn't want to marry her; he wasn't entirely sure what possessed him to even consider it in the first place. But there was a tiny part of him that had to admit, it wasn't completely without its draws. She was beautiful if not entirely what he'd always dreamed of. She was royalty, if it had been their own idea, their fathers would have extolled the virtues of such a match. But it was the kiss that he kept coming back to.

He was fairly certain she'd known men before but the way she kissed him, like she was trying to breathe him, clouded what should be disdain. He'd wished he'd never kissed her, never gotten it into his head to sneak into her room. And he still couldn't remember exactly what he was thinking. Maybe that his father would never allow it. Her father would never allow it. Arthur had never liked being told what he wasn't allowed to reach for. Limiting his grasp made him want to extend himself further. He'd learned that a long time ago and so had his father.

He wished he was capable of loving her. It would have been such an easy match. It would have solved his problem with Guinevere. He wouldn't have to feel so terrible about thinking so fondly of that kiss they'd shared. But the idea of his father forcing him into a loveless marriage was unbearable, for him to subject himself to one by choice was unthinkable. 

When she'd been begging to stay, begging him to go with her, begging him to run away with her, he couldn't wait for her to leave but now she was gone...

It was that same driving element, the one where he knew he couldn't have her and therefore he wanted to try, just to prove destiny wrong. She was forbidden fruit, the apple, that while on the tree looked so tempting, so sweet but the instant he bit into the flesh, taking that knowledge, it would turn bitter in his mouth and turn everything else to ruin.

It was for the best really, that they'd left. After all, forbidden fruit was forbidden for a very good reason.

**Author's Note:**

> As of 01/01/18, I'm opting to disable comments. [More information here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13077201).


End file.
